How much does freedom cost?
Far more in the U.S. than anywhere else
As the number of casualties in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center continues to fall, the fascination with determining the exact number of dead stands in growing contrast to the base nature and emotion of the U.S. reaction.
From the near hysterical claims of 50,000 deaths during the first few days to the latest numbers of less than 3,000, the morbid interest stems from the desire to make sense of an attack that many consider senseless. The nature of the attacks was dismaying and inflammatory. Yet, the declining number of victims exposes how out of proportion so much of the reaction has been to the scale of the attacks.
With the CIA’s budget shrouded in secrecy, we will never know how much the U.S. government ends up spending in its latest war that is not a war. The commitments the Bush administration has made are already double the Alberta government’s entire yearly budget, and the fund-raising for the victims – already in the tens of millions – overshadows all current philanthropic efforts. Every time a new perceived threat sweeps the nation, Serious George is there with wads of cash to fix the problem.
Like a war on drugs jacked up on steroids, criticism of the administration on any of its anti-terrorism activities is difficult. U.S. administrations have started expensive and ineffective policies with far less public support, and defended them for years with little more than stonewalling and fear mongering. Today, all Pugnacious George has to do is wrap himself in the flag and emote revenge and even the most constructive criticism will be washed away.
No matter how sudden and shocking in nature the events of September 11 were, questions should still be raised about the $50 billion plus that is being spent to exact revenge, not redress, for 3,000 lives. A conservative and simple cost projection puts it at more than $17 million per life. When hundreds of thousands die each year from war, terrorism and oppression, these numbers bring to a new level the reality that an American’s life or freedom is worth thousands of times more than that of someone living in a developing country.
Although this discussion appears callous, those numbers are simply a rough analysis of the U.S. government’s anti-terrorism efforts using the same tools with which other government policies are evaluated. It is shameful, arrogant and heartless to look at the deaths of thousands of people in monetary terms, but it is a modern reality that even a war of vengeance will not escape. In 1945, there was no price on freedom. There is today, thanks to the omnipresent practice of risk management. In almost every public or private sector activity, policy decisions are based on an analysis of financial risk compared to potential reward.
In the airline industry, identified design flaws are evaluated on the potential number of failures versus the cost of fixing the problem. If the possibility of repeated failures is low enough and the cost of fixing the problem high enough, the airlines will take their chances. It is a basic human instinct refined by the addition of statistics and complex cost-benefit analysis models.
All of the dismal U.S. airport security operations (pre- and post-September 11) would not do well in such an analysis. One of the potential long-term benefits of the crisis is money effectively spent in this area. Unfortunately, it will be difficult to maintain political interest in such mundane work, and air security will slip again. Finding effective and fair ways to monitor immigrants, refugees and other visitors will likely suffer the same fate.
Most of the U.S. efforts are clearly bent on the more robust work of vengeance and eradicating terrorist threats. Vengeance is always a costly business.
The U.S. is a vengeful society that believes in an eye for an eye. The death penalty and the lawsuit industry are two examples of the connection between justice and retribution that runs though U.S. society.
The vengeance factor is now coupled with the strange and compelling belief that the U.S. government not only can, but should, ensure that U.S. citizens will not be killed by terrorists. U.S. citizens certainly do not expect their government to protect them from other more likely dangers – self-inflicted or external – yet the random and violent nature of terrorism creates a visceral reaction that leads to demands for measures out of proportion with the potential threat.
The Bush administration has already promised it will make every effort (and spend every dollar) needed to ensure the safety of its citizens. The financial strain put on a federal treasury already mired in debt could be Osama Bin Laden’s most ironic legacy. |
